Londis buy-out looking likely

THE Musgrave Group bid for Britain's Londis outlets looks almost certain to be successful after a potential rival yesterday pulled out of the race.

With the 2,000 shareholders in Londis due to vote on the Musgrave offer today, Britain's Co-operative Group has ruled itself out of launching a counter bid for the convenience store group.

The Co-op was among several bidders being touted to snap up Londis from under Musgrave, which has been circling the British retailer for some six months.

Its £60 million (€90m) bid will mean a £32,000 windfall for Londis shareholders, who paid just £50 for a stake in the company.

A Londis spokesperson said yesterday: “We are pleased the Co-op announcement clarifies the situation ahead of Tuesday's vote.

Now shareholders have a simple choice - whether to accept the one bid that meets all our criteria, the recommended Musgrave cash offer.”

To be successful, Musgraves needs 75% of shareholders to back the deal. Londis has been encouraging shareholders to give its support as the best way for the chain to grow in the coming years. Two of the larger shareholder activist groups have given their backing to Musgraves.

The extraordinary general meeting of Londis takes place in Birmingham this afternoon. It is not known how many proxy votes the board has in favour of the Musgrave bid.